


Coming to a Halt

by lunaseemoony



Category: Doctor Who (2005), The Politician's Husband
Genre: Angst, Gen, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 14:35:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7761700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaseemoony/pseuds/lunaseemoony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All he wants to do is see her one last time, and give her something to remember him by</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming to a Halt

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting fics from tumblr to complete collections 
> 
> I'm issuing a tissue warning for this fic. And for the record this was prompted.

He sped down the motorway and dared traffic cops to pull him over. He could talk a snake out of its skin. He could very easily convince an officer of the law that love was way above it. At least in his eyes. Fortunately it wasn’t a problem. It was incredibly foolish of him to drive from London to Cardiff while racing against time. Adrenaline rushed through his veins and urged him on to success. He wasn’t so sure he couldn’t fail, but if he told himself enough times he’d succeed he hoped it would come true. 

It wasn’t the first time he’d raced against time. But every other time wound up being a false alarm. If he couldn’t be successful he deeply hoped this time wouldn’t be any different. Why would she text him with the time of her jump if she didn’t want him to try again? She’d told him no, that her heart couldn’t let go. This much he believed, because he felt that same ache. 

It was a different sort that was burning in his chest as he tore through Torchwood. Nobody dared to try and slow him down. In fact, they all stood back. He damn near knocked a poor woman down as he raced through departments to reach the dimension cannon. He burst through the doors like the sharp winds of a storm. 

Everyone in the room stood stock still; not like statues but pins that could knocked down. Only Pete turned around to look at him. But his eyes couldn’t be further than right there in the room. He’d never walked into a room that was more silent. It wasn’t until he looked at the computers that he understood. They were all turned off. The screens were black, the humming of the machinery perfectly calm. 

“Is she here?” 

“You’re a bit late, I’m afraid,” Pete informed him in an attempt at a gentle tone. 

His heart was still racing, dragging what remained of his hope with it. “Is she coming back? I just wanted to speak to her.” He held up a little stuffed rabbit. “Just wanted to give this to her. It’s hers, from the carnival, and she left it in my flat.” 

Everyone that had been pretending to not listen whipped their heads away as if he could pluck the answer right from the pity in their eyes. He could’ve heard a pin drop. He certainly heard his heart thumping in his skull. 

“Oh for heaven’s sake.”

He recognized Jackie Tyler of course. She’d never been shy about voicing her opinions about Aiden. But now she had the most heartrending look of sympathy for him on her face as she approached him and squeezed his shoulder. 

“Not this time, dear.”

He rejected her pity and jerked his shoulder from her grip. One thin thread of hope was all the comfort he needed. “You don’t know that. How can you know that?”

He filtered out the explanation that Jake gave him and summed it up with they’d know, because _he_ would close off their access once finding out how she got over there. 

“She’s gone,” somebody said, he couldn’t be bothered with who.

He was guided into a chair and told he looked pale. He didn’t feel pale. He felt empty of all the warmth she’d blessed him with, a husk of the man she’d met. Her name formed a pit in his throat that he couldn’t swallow no matter how hard he tried. He didn’t have anyone here to appear strong for. Not anymore. He hugged the prize he’d won her, the little rabbit she’d named after him. He held it tight, squeezing the life out of it and burying his grief and failure in it. He couldn’t even speak her name. She was lost to him, gone with barely a trace. 

There was no risk of being pulled over for speeding on the way back home. 


End file.
